Railway Engineers Condemns the Seventh
Pay Commission Recommendations and submitted Charter of 27 Demands
New Delhi, Dec.1 (ANI): Railway engineers from
across the country gathered at the Jantar Mantar area of central Delhi on
Tuesday to voice their objections to the recommendations of the Seventh Central
Pay Commission.
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| RAILWAY ENGINEERS PROTEST |
Collecting under the banner of the All India
Railway Engineers Federation (AIREF), the engineers said that their protest
would continue till Wednesday (December 2).
Engineer Sanjib Kumar, the president of the AIREF,
told ANI, "Due to the faulty policies made by railways and erroneous
report given by Seventh Central Pay Commission, the railway engineers have been
frustrated seriously for which there will be a tremendous threat to railway
safety in the future."
He further stated that the AIREF represents about
80,000 degree and diploma engineers of Indian Railways, all of whom play a
crucial role in ensuring the safe and efficient running of trains; construction
and production; design, repair and maintenance of tracks, bridges and
buildings; rolling stock, locomotives, coaches, electrical services, OHE,
signals, telecommunications.
Kumar also revealed that the railway engineers also
assume the responsibility for the safe movement of 23 million passengers daily.
The striking railway engineers said that
they have submitted a charter of 27 demands for the government to implement,
failing which they warned that their strike could turn into an indefinite one.
The demands are as follows:
1. GroupB/Gazetted status to all railway engineers
(JE, SSE, SE/IT, CMA/CMS & DMS/CDMS) as per DOPT Gazette Notification no605
dtd. 09.04.2009 as implemented in all other departments of Central Govt
2. Recognition of All India Railway Engineers
Federation (AIREF) and its affiliated Zonal Railway Engineers Associations as
per Khanna Committee recommendation.
3. To remove anomaly of 6th CPC: Grant upgraded Pay
matrix equal to Rs. 5400 (PB3) to JE and Rs. 6600 (PB3) to SSE with standard
designation of Assistant Engineer.
4. Time bound promotion from JE to Junior
Administrative Grade Officer.
5. Scrap new pension scheme in Railways or make it
optional.
6. Grand Technical Allowance @ 30 percent to all
railway engineers.
7. Inclusion of father and mother in definition of
family as per Indian culture.
8. Remove anomaly of Modified Assured career
progression (MACPS) a. Counting of apprentice period for MACP for regular
service since it is qualifying service for pension and increment. b. Financial
upgradation under MACPS to the directly recruited Graduate Engineers (head
Draftsman) Considering entry Grade Pay as Rs. 4,600/ for the purpose of MACP
to all the directly recruited Engineering Graduates and treating GP 4200 to
diploma engineers recruited as Asstt Draftsman in Design/Drawing Cadre and
other Cadres, those recruited one stage lower at that time. c. Third financial
upgradation under MACPS on completion of 20 years of service from the first
promotion or 10 years after second promotion or 30 years after regular
appointment whichever is earlier.
9. Stop immediately implementation of integrated
seniority as per Rly Bd. Letter no. RBE 92/2015 for the purpose of
promotion/selection to GroupB posts.
10. Open a promotional channel to qualified loco
pilots to become JE / SSE through LDCE / GDCE.
11. Provide entitlement in Tatkal ticket through
privilege / duty passes/ PTOs.
12. Provide eticket facility to Railway employees
on pass/ PTOs / epass.
13. Remove restriction of no. of tickets in
Rajdhani/ Shatabdi / Duranto express trains on passes / PTOs.
14. Provision of
accidental insurance of Rs. 20 lakhs to all railway engineers.
15. Provision of LTC to railway engineers on inland
or foreign tours once in two years.
16. No corporatisation in Indian Railways and its
Production Units.
17. Provision reimbursement of tuition fee of
children studying in higher education ( Engg. / Medical / MBA etc)
18. Provision improved rest house facilities at all
major railway stations for Railway Engineers or provide hotel / retiring room
facility as admissible to all Central Govt. employees.
19. Rename the training institutes as Railway
Engineers' Training Institutes instead of Supervisors' Training Institutes.
20. Ensure CUG facilities to all Railway Engineers
and increase the CUG utility amount to minimum Rs 500/ for JE and equivalent
and Rs 1000/ for SSE and equivalent.
21. Provide brief case to all Railway Engineers
irrespective of any condition.
22. Set up technical library in all divisional / HQ
office including workshops, loco sheds under functional management of Engineers
Associations of the unit.
23. Stop unnecessary inspections on Sundays &
holidays by higher officers except during unusual incidences like accidents,
derailments. etc.
24. Ensure compulsory weekly rest to field staff
and to implement 8 hours duty schedule, sanction additional night duty posts of
Engineers where it is not yet exists
25. Fill up all existing vacant posts to stop shortcut
method.
26. Create new posts as per new assets.
27. Increase exemption limit Income tax to Rs 8
Lakhs and exemption of all allowances from Income tax.
Maintaining that the seventh CPC has ignored all
factors i.e. education, duties and responsibilities of the railway engineers,
and only concentrated on upgrading the pay structures of noncore, nontechnical
and non safety categories, Engineer Sanjib warned that it will affect seriously
the government's dream project to run a bullet train in the future.
He said that when several railway safety committees
such as the Justice Khanna Committee, the Justice Wanchoo Committee and the
Justice Sikiri Committee have categorically recommended giving railway
engineers separate recognition in view of their separate nature of duties,
responsibilities, mode of recruitment and training etc., why was this
government shying away from granting it.
"We have had a good meetings with the
commission at several places at different cities of the country. The chairman
has assured to give justice by giving GroupB status and good pay structures
with perks. But now, we have found that the commission has betrayed us,"
Engineer Kumar said.
AIREF Secretary General Engineer Ashok Kumar Tyagi
described the lot of railway engineers as disappointing and unfortunate.
"It is the worst ever pay commission report
among seven pay commissions," he maintained.
A.V. Swamy, Member of the Rajya Sabha from Odisha
and a member of the Parliament's Standing Committee on Water Resources, and a
former engineer, justified the railway engineers protest.
He said, "When the rights and demands of
railway engineers are denied, the chance of technical advancement of the
railways is remote."
Lok Sabha Member B. Majhi and exengineer in chief
of E. Co. Railways, said, "Pay commissions have continuously ignored the
just demands of the railway engineers." Rajya Sabha Member A.B. Rapolu
said,
"The Railway Board has denied justice to its
technocrats. Junior engineers and SSEs must be granted Group B gazetted status
at par with other central government departments The AIREF said that the
railway ministry has been giving only conventional replies and this would
eventually affect the safety and economy of the railways seriously.(ANI)
